WE WILL REBUILD

FEELING LUCKY?

SANDY EMBRACE

Shocked beachgoers discover naked couple passed out in the sand

BUTLER'S TEARS

Paul Burrell reveals that he BEGGED dead Princess Diana to 'wake up'

A close pal of the McCanns said of the approaching anniversary: “It’s a very difficult and emotional time for them and they don’t need the extra anguish of having tweeters and minor celebrities posting negative and hurtful remarks about them.

“They are now filtering, with the aid of their official representative and friends, any cruel and offensive material which oversteps the mark to pass on to police to assess. Malicious communication is an offence.

“People seem to be saying whatever they want which is the eyes of the law could be deemed a criminal offence. There is a constant and growing activity by these ghouls and it’s a disgrace.

“It continues to anger and upset Madeleine’s family.”

TV detective claims Maddie McCann knew where parents were and went looking for them

PA:Press Association

Madeleine McCann, three, went missing in 2007 from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal

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Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann have never given up hope of finding her alive

Psychologist Dr John Synott said: “Most trolling behaviour has a lifespan of a couple of days. But the McCann case has been going on for nearly ten years and you cannot see the abuse ever ending.”

The couple’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell told The Sun Online: “Any threatening and malicious communication will immediately be forwarded to the police for them to investigate and to act upon where necessary."

Mr Mitchell has also been bombarded with abuse himself for representing the family.

Former GP Kate, whose hope of finding her daughter alive never fades, has previously said: “We’ve had lots of abuse over the years. People wouldn’t get away with behaving like that in the street and yet they feel they can hide behind a computer at home. They’re cowards.”

PA:Press Association

Much of the online abuse against the McCanns comes from women, research found

Kate revealed that while she and heart doctor husband Gerry, 48, try to ignore the negative comments posted on Twitter and chat forums, some are too malicious to forget.

The anguished mum said in an TV interview with Lorraine Kelly: “It’s the internet abuse that is so damaging and we both feel really strongly that more should be done about it.”

Gerry has in the past hit out at trolls targeting his family with threats of violence and kidnapping, and said he worries about his 12-year-old twins Sean and Amelie using the internet.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There have been instances where people are threatening to kidnap our children. People are threatening violence against Kate and myself.

“Of course it’s not just us. It is many other people who happen to find themselves in rather tragic circumstances. I do think we need to make examples of people who are causing damage.”